Tydus Winans was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the 3rd round of the 1994 NFL Draft out of Fresno State. He spent two seasons with the Redskins and signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals, later in 1996. From 1997-1998, Tydus played for the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders. In 1998, Tydus was drafted by the Amsterdam Admirals in the NFL Europe free agent draft but opted to stay in the U.S. In 2001, Tydus capped off his football career by playing for the San Francisco Demons of the XFL.

Tydus has extended family in the sports and entertainment business. Cousins BeBe, CeCe, and Vickie are successful gospel signers, Mario is making a name for himself as a solo R&B artist, and Kevin Ollie is the point guard of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Currently, Tydus lives in California and spends quality time with his family. When he is not with his family, he works as a motivational speaker. I recently had the chance to speak with him about his high school experiences.

Who did you seek for advice as a teenager in high school? I have a very large family. I'm the baby of 8 kids. Four brothers, three sisters and my parents. So I had many people to go to for advice.

How did you adjust to changing careers from football to motivational speaker? Well how I went from pro football to motivational speaking... Well that was an easy transition because I majored in communications in college and this is something that comes natural to me.

When you were a teenager, how did you cope with peer pressure? How did you get over it? Coping with peer pressure was kind of easy for me. I knew right from wrong, so I was one that always check my surroundings and I would see people doing good and bad things, so seeing how the bad things affected people I would make sure I took a close look at the effects.

Was there any hobby or personal skill you went to to change your attitude if you had a bad day at school? When I would get upset I'd go running or do something physical to vent out.

Were there any public figures you looked up to and tried to emulate as a kid? Tony Dorsett and Walter Payton were great role models.

As an adult looking back on your high school days, what advice would you give to students who are struggling through it socially and/or academically? Be yourself. Don't try to be something or someone you're not. If you do hang with a crowd, make sure it's a positive one. Like the old saying, if you hang around 9 broke friends, you're bound to be the next. So basically saying, if you're around a bunch of fools at your high school, you're bound to turn out like them. But if you're hanging around TRUE friends that don't care what you have or what your wear and they have goals they're trying to achieve it'll make you shoot for the stars too.

List your five keys to becoming successful, happy, and understanding of your self: 1. Keep God first or some spiritual foundation.
2. Write your goals down so you can take a clear look at what direction your headed.
3. Take action towards those goals.
4. Stay positive even in the midst of trouble.
5. Surround yourself with positive people.

What was high school like in the 80'? What do you think the differences are today? Going to school in the 80's-hmmm! It was fun, of course, but the difference is we had more kids that were involved in school functions. Kids now a days are lazy. With computers, video games, and other things that keep them indoors, kids don't want to do much physical activity.

-- Junior Hog

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